BURIEN, Wash. — New surveillance video shows thieves tearing down and stealing several pride flags in Burien on June 8 — a crime the city has encountered before.
"Let's raise people up instead of tearing down flags,” said Dianna Leppa, a Burien resident who replaced the stolen flags. “Let's celebrate."
Surveillance video from a Burien business on early Saturday morning shows thieves ripping down and taking Pride flags placed along Southwest 152nd Street. Approximately 80 Pride flags out of original 130 flags were stolen or vandalized.
"The fact that we have to go back and redo it,” said Denise Ferguson, program manager with Discover Burien. “And continue on is maddening."
Discover Burien is the nonprofit that displayed the flags and hosts Burien Pride each year.
"We're very disheartened, and now we're just downright angry,” said Ferguson. “You know it makes me angry."
The same crime has happened in Burien twice before. Two years ago, Pride flags were stolen and poles were broken in the middle of the night in downtown Burien. And in 2020, thieves took down all but two of the Pride flags flying in the town. New flags were later installed after both of these incidents.
"It's a symbol, obviously they're trying to destroy the symbol of what it means to celebrate this month and it's just very, very wrong," said Ferguson.
So, Leppa had to make it right. "Love wins so we had to do, and shine our light even brighter right, to show people that we love and support them," said Leppa.
Leppa is a longtime Burien resident. She, her family and friends spent Sunday morning replacing the missing flags. Leppa said her husband "had to bend the pole out because they had ripped the bolts out and we zip-tied the flags back on and hopefully they'll stay a little bit longer this time."
They put up 15 new flags, sending a clear message to those responsible: be better, do better, said Leppa. “You try to dim our light, but we'll just shine brighter."
Officials with Discover Burien said the flags will remain up until the end of June, which is Pride Month. They plan to replace the Pride flags with American flags next month in honor of Independence Day.